Govt to raise bureaucrat's salaries to 'fight graft'
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government unveiled on Tuesday its New Year present for the country's 3.6 million civil servants: a hefty salary increase.
Starting next year, the lowest monthly basic pay for civil servants will amount to Rp 1 million (US$100), well above the highest provincial minimum wage for employees in the private sector. It is hoped that the raise may ease the impact of the highest inflation rate in four years.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday the increase was aimed at stamping out corruption in the lower and middle levels of the bureaucracy. "Starting next year, the government will raise the monthly salary of civil servants on par with the increase in the welfare of people like farmers and fishermen. The salary of civil servants of the lowest rank is Rp 1 million," Susilo said in his address to a national meeting of state officials at the State Palace.
There has not been a comprehensive study on the actual amount of state losses as a result of corruption involving possibly millions of low ranking civil servants. Most corruption cases brought to court have involved higher ranking officials after they had embezzled several billions of rupiah.
The planned increase is being discussed between the government and the House of Representatives, which the President said had hailed the initiative.
At present, a newly hired civil servant earns Rp 800,000. Civil servants have their salary increased by Rp 40,000 per month on average after each full year on the job.
Civil servants of the same rank may receive different amounts of take-home pay, as certain government offices provide additional allowances. Those who are posted in remote areas also receive a hardship allowance.
The President said he understood that low pay was one of the reasons for widespread corruption in the bureaucracy and law enforcement institutions. "Improvements of salaries have been carried out to make civil servants less vulnerable to corruption," he told 750 high ranking officials from the central government, provincial administrations and regental administrations. The President has put the anticorruption drive as his government's top priority.
The planned salary increase for civil servants comes as the Corruption Eradication Commission proposed significant hikes in the salaries of high ranking officials, but a termination of some state facilities they used to enjoy.
Susilo also warned government officials that he was not the type of a person who could be easily duped by "good news" from his subordinates.
"I also have information from other sources or other reports (about any given situation)," he said.
To tap information directly from people, the President has given out a special phone number to the public for complaints or compliments. He said just one or two rotten government officials would spoil much of the government's attempts to establish good governance. The president also asserted that he would not hesitate to dismiss one or two Cabinet members.
Meanwhile, more graft cases involving highly ranked officials could come to light soon, as the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) head Anwar Nasution said his office found indications of corruption involving the State Secretariat.
BPK has been auditing the assets of the State Secretariat, including those in the Kemayoran fair ground and Senayan in Central Jakarta.
Anwar said the asset of the State Secretariat in Senayan had been turned into commercial areas from its original purpose as a sports complex. "It is owned by the state but it was distributed to officials and their families. This clearly reveals something wrong. We will give it to the head of the state to take action," Anwar said.